Monday, January 11, 2010

On the day before New Years Eve less than two weeks ago, the penultimate day of the year, we took an evening walk along the bay to get out and stretch the legs. No storms that afternoon, just the timeless show of sea, horizon, and clouds . . ..

Time to head for home, as the sun sank low, working her alchemy on the water, producing pure gold . . ..

Even after the sun had slipped out of sight, the light show continued in quiet splendor . . . made me think of the Chesapeake Bay, where I watched many a sunset in years past . . ..

Subtle colors out over the water, with the lights of the port of Roscoff in the distance . . . where one can catch the ferry to either Portsmouth or even Ireland, were one so inclined . . ..

This is not an advertisement for Volkswagen, just the full moon rivalling the electric light for brightness in the rapidly dimming sky . . ..

While out in Brittany at New Years, I noticed a photograph in a hidden corner I hadn't seen before. The young girl is la Grenouille's grandmother, with her mother, la Grenouille's great grandmother . . . I photographed the photo, to save it for posterity . . . I met her grandmother only a couple of times before she passed away, well into her nineties. . . a sweet soul . . ..

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And now for something completely different . . . I'd been wondering for some time how to go about adding a little slightly more personal music to the blog, and finally got around to finding what I hope is a fairly simple solution via a file hosting site. I wrote this piece probably about 20 years ago, and it is the only song I've written that was ever "released" publicly in any form. . . on a cassette tape, thanks to the efforts of my old friend Scott S. who played bass guitar, mandolin, and twelve string guitar on this, while I did the rhythm guitar and vocals (if you can stand to call them that...) When I click the below link, it opens my media player automatically, I hope it will work for you too, if you have the patience to indulge me here. . . (I know, I'm asking alot; after photos, poetry, and now... home-made music... baring my soul... taking big risks...).Owen - Standing On The Brink.mp3Free file hosting from File Den..

46 comments:

A confession? A transgression? Is that you singing, Owen? Is it? If it is, then I just heard your voice... heard it completely... heard it with all my senses. Excellent idea, Owen, to allow us to get to know you better. It makes this whole blogging thing feel a little bit more personal... if you know what I mean. And as for those photos... "the sun sank low" is where my heart stopped for a split second. And I was flooded with thoughts and memories that always hit me when I see a beautiful sunset. I saw it with my eyes, and felt it in my soul.

Dear Nevine, you are the early bird today... it is my voice, admittedly a bit younger than now... but I still play around with the guitar, was playing in the kitchen this very afternoon... there may be a little bit more where that came from in the pipeline... Ahh, Sunday evening in San Antone... hope you're managing to stay warm...:-)

I'm old, I'll click on stuff...I did my over view and clicked...minimized that light show cause they make me jealous that we didn't have them back in the 1960's when they could have really been nice.

The music comes on and I'm back inspecting pictures..slowly..and groovin' to the tune... my brain is trying to place the music/voice... and I'm groovin' to the tune and inspecting photos...but the song keeps demanding my full attention... so I just shut my eyes and get lost in the song a second time...I gotta do it a third time... I really love the lyrics , music, vocals...

Then I read that it is you singing... this deserved a post of it's own... what else you hiding from us?

I love the photographs, as usual, but my brain is lost in the beautiful song.

A brave thing to do, Owen. It's a very listenable song, good melody, faintly melancholic in that minor key. Intelligent lyrics. The mandolin gives it a Middle Eatern aura, which is something I particularly like. It seems to me to be much more than an amateur effort. Did you do a lot of composing/singing at one time?

Your voice was not a surprise to me, somehow. I'm quite glad to have this further glimpse of you.

PS If Babzy or anyone else has difficulty opening this file with their IE borwser, try Firefox, which was what worked for me.

Bravo, Dylan... er, I mean, Owen. Loved "Standing" -- I think you've got to share more of this talent with us. I see in a previous response here that you're still working at it... Please do share. I've been meditating on sharing more of myself on SM through file uploads. Sharing in creative ways like this, though not through singing... but you get the idea. The quiet moments by the sea shots are really very calming and enchanting. And that tree, the moon, the sky, and the water seem to magically highlight the VW, so it indeed could be a subtle advertisment (do you own stock?). Great post, Owen. Your skills at creative blogging are an everpresent inspiration to me. Thanks.David

What a bright idea to let us listen to this!! I really, really liked it! Your blog is a pure treasure for the photos, for the writings ... and now also for the music!! As others, I was really moved listening to this. Hope to hear something more, even if this was the only one officially "released"!

So you've thrown yourself at our collective feet-- and we are NOT embarrassed (adding my own voice to the other fans' screaming and rending of clothing). Just as long as it's only your soul you intend to bare within the confines of the Magic Lantern. There is a limit, you know, to what we'll put up with. But you haven't reached it yet!

Now I have to figure out how to get this fine tune onto my new MP3 player, without causing my computer to implode again.

I also love the light show that goes along with the song...reminiscent of my first experience of such, at the Jefferson Airplane concert, with Grace Slick belting out White Rabbit.

Wow. I am very impressed. A bit of Dylan, a bit of Spanish (?) guitar. A very accomplished piece that has more immediacy to it than a lot of the guff that chokes up the mainsteam music industry. Someone give this man Simon Cowell's phone number so he can tell him to stick his pop manufacturing factory and reach the top alone!

Owen, I was so delighted to hear your song! - thoroughly enjoyed it! In fact, I was giggling gleefully, not because it was in any way funny, but because I was getting such a kick out of it. And your voice is quite pleasant, I think :) I could picture you performing it in a coffeehouse, somewhere...Do treat us to more songs, Owen!! Or to whatever else your creative inclinations come up with!

Hi Cafe Pasadena... in a word... the weather is FREEZING ! Pasadena sounds good right about now... or some sunny southern island in the tropics... Hawaii or Tahiti would do just fine... Many thanks, glad you enjoyed the photos...

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Liz, thank you... you are very welcome !

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Hi Amy... a thousand thanks... putting the song up felt almost like jumping off a cliff, once it's out there, one can't go back... but hey, life is short...

Hey @eloh; wow! cool! am happy this gave you some good listening time ! Am tickled pink in fact... I'm hiding all sorts of secrets... it wouldn't do to empty the whole sack at once on the table...

Keep clicking away ! We'll see what else I can find in the cupboards and attics and desk drawers...

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Hi Babzy, am glad you're enjoying the photos... am not sure why the song didn't work for you, most folks seem to be able to play it on both PC and Macs. Perhaps you could try a right-click on the link, then choose "Save target as" or "Enregistrer Cible" if your machine is in french... and then save the mp3 file to your machine, then try to open it with any media player which is mp3 compatible.... good luck, and many thanks !

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Hi Deborah... thanks a million ! It is true, in my younger years I used to play in some folk clubs and bars for a while, nothing major by any stretch of the imagination, just out fooling around with some friends, and no agents were beating my door down or anything, so I always kept it pretty low key... really appreciate your perceptive feedback... Hope you are warm whether in Canada still or in southern France, which also got snowed on last week...

Hi Jim, you're right, without risks, there would be little spice in life... just starting the blog in the first place felt like a risk at the time, going public with what had previously been a totally private life... but it's been a good trip so far, we'll see where it goes... hasn't gone viral yet either... there's only about 20 million blogs out there... if not more, which is why I really appreciate everyone who does somehow drop in here...:-)

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Hi TechnoB, So you were living right by the Chesapeake ? There's alot of nice real estate down that way. We used to go to a place called Elk Neck State Park and hang out on the beach there... My parents loved Smith Island... In any case, many thanks !

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Hey David ! I had a friend named Dylan while still in grade school... does that count ? He turned out to be a great jazz bass player btw... http://www.myspace.com/dylantaylor007

And no, no VW stock in the vast portfolio... just alot of old black & white photos and a few odds and ends of songs & poems... not much, but it's all I've got...

Really appreciate your company on this long strange trip...

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Hey Peter, a great big thank you... I'll have to see what else I can find in the closet...

Amatamari, well, I hope you also had a glass of good wine to sip while partaking of the rest ? Many thanks !

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Dearest big sister Lynne,What's this about rending of clothing ??!!?? I promise I won't be baring anything else besides a bit of the old soul in these pages... Wow, so we've gone from Grace Slick singing White Rabbit live to copying music onto mp3 players... how times have changed ! It still amazes me how whole shelves full of vinyl records and drawers full of cassette tapes and big piles of CDs can now all fit on one little gizmo in my shirt pocket, and I haven't even half filled the darn thing up yet... And I'll bet you saw some good light shows way back when. Well, the sky's the limit, eh? Will try to keep surprising you, though it may get tougher to find surprises... but a little good calm stability and reliability is perhaps a good thing too ?

Jill, for you, a million thank you's; if that got you giggling, then for me it is a roaring success ! It did get played in a bar or two around Philadelphia, but that was years ago... Will see what else I can scrape up for you...

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Hi Argent, and welcome... those Watercats are good folks, and I love what is going on in their blog ! Good down to earth writing and music... And many thanks, will have to see where it goes...

aaahhhh.... well.. firstly, sorry for taking so long to call over, have fallen behind with blog visits.. secondly.. ..I think we'll give up now!what a fecking great song, and I listened while I read your posts and flicked through your pictures and it matched everything perfectly!, especially the pics in this post, really atmospheric, love it! I loved the lead guitar on the twelve string, cool.. and the voice wasn't so much dylan I found.. little tendencies maybe.. I heard you more Nick Drake in tone.. beautiful voice anyway, nothing like i was expecting, lol!You can tour with us after hearing that.. and sell t-shirts and be photographer etc.Look forward to hearing more snippets.. :-D and I now have the song permanently on our player! woo hoo!

What a major treat. I listened twice, once to experience the sound and second to focus on the lyrics.

Perhaps in a previous life you were a wandering minstrel, or a troubadour for a royal court... writing poetry, putting it to music, performing. But there were no cameras then so I'm glad you are here now adding that dimension.

This is a really excellent and personal post with so much WOW factor hitting more of the senses with a such great depth of feeling, enhancing the start of my day.

I don't know what else to say but yell out ENCORE accompanied by enthusiastic applause!

Hey Mr Toad, you are indeed very clever! The song jump straight into my I-Tunes, so it's now on my I-pod, squeezed between Nickelback and P.O.D, haha.Love the guitar, agree with Steve, a bit of Dylan and spanish guitar mix. Very good. Thanks for being brave!

I think the music is wonderful, the photos of Haiti heartbreaking and your words...powerful.I imagine your two lovely daughters are quite proud of their Papa. PS...I took a bunch of photos in an old cemetery the other day and have debated blogging about it. Am willing to take a risk now! Thanks for following m blog..I look forward to following yours. Great photos/stories!Jeanne :)

I'm completely gobsmacked by the family photo of LG's grandmother and her great-grandmother! Worth it's weight in gold. I love digital cameras for their capacity to allow one to photograph all of those old photos that no one has the time, energy, money, or desire to share. Yippee for pixels! I'll catch up with your music as soon as I'm resurrected from my current condition of toast post-voyage!

Hey there Pliers ! We are truly lucky to have some of the technology we have these days... high quality photos with no wait while they get developed at the lab... instant gratification, excellent for us impatient types... Hope your post travel toast state will rapidly dissipate...

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Hi Jeanne, welcome... I think if it is treated with all due respect and sobriety, the subject of cemeteries can be a rich one, rich in philosophy, art, poetry, poignant, on many levels. So please do share your photos... If you go down the right side of my page, in the labels list if you click on "Cemeteries", you can see the hundred posts I've done over the past year and a half or so pertaining to cemeteries... a subject I love...

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Hi Lille Diane, many thanks ! Too kind ! Well, who knows, maybe it will go viral now that it's out there on the net !?!

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Hi Desi ! Too bad !, well maybe when you get home you can hear it ? Glad you liked the photos though... I have to get around to sending you one for this month... will do so shortly...:-)

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Hi Deirdre, thanks so much... you may be right, I have a soft spot for Volkswaken, after having owned a couple years ago... A convertible Beetle would be fun, no ? It wasn't mine though...

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Hi Robert... thanks ! Sometimes one word says a mountain...

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Hi Diana ! Glad you enjoyed... did Larry get to hear the music too ? Hope it passed muster...:-)

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Dear Undertaker, well, it's not that I'm so clever, it's just alot of things related to the internet are getting easier for idiots like me as time goes by... I had to search for quite a while before finding a way to post the music...

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Dear Stickup ! You are too kind by far... but certainly, in a previous life centuries ago, I was a troubadour, wandering Europe, singing in bars and on street corners... thank you !!! Glad it got your day off to a good start...

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Hi Loulou... will do my best to continue surprising you, if that's possible. So glad the music worked easily for you, right into iTunes huh ? Maybe iTunes will be selling it one day for ,99 centimes ???:-)

The Books Are Out Now !

Two books of Owen's Photos are now available and can be seen in their entirety by clicking on the links that are in this post about them. Enjoy ! If you would like to order one, please drop me an e-mail to owenmart333 at gmail dot com

Owen's Photos Now For Sale on ImageKind

Image Kind Gallery

If you see a photo in this blog which you would like to have on a wall at home, just let me know and I will be happy to upload it to the ImageKind site where it can be purchased at the link above.

The Zebra Award !

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About Me

Why ? Answer : Why not ? Originally from a foreign country, now French and living in France for the past 20 years. Am still adapting to culture shock. Frequently go out scouring the countryside, camera in hand, looking for my dream house, for my dreamtime, for my dreams.
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